Ivanovic's detention extended, defense to lodge complaint

Ivanovic's detention has been extended by two months and, as stated, the decision was made at the application of the Kosovo Special Prosecution Office. EULEX spokesperson Irina Gudeljevic told the press that the reasoning behind the court's decision cites the risk of flight and the risk that the defendant might influence witnesses. Ivanovic's defense attorney Nebojsa Vlajic told the press that the reasons for the extension of detention on remand are “non-existent and fictitious", just as they were when the one-month custody was originally ordered. Vlajic added that he will lodge a complaint against the decision to extend detention for Ivanovic on Friday. Ivanovic has been held at the detention center in Pristina, and the request for his transfer to the detention facility in northern Kosovska Mitrovica, with the majority Serb population, was denied earlier. The GI SDP leader and candidate for mayor of northern Kosovska Mitrovica in the February 23 elections has been in detention since January 27. He was arrested on suspicion of involvement in an alleged war crime in 1999 and post-war incidents in 2000, including an aggravated murder, and for inciting to ethnically motivated murder. Serbian Prime Minister Ivica Dacic protested Ivanovic's arrest in the strongest of terms before the UN Security Council on February 10. On the same day, the Serbian government provided guarantees that Ivanovic and three other Serbs will be available to the EULEX mission throughout their trials.